Today, the leading manufacturer of man-made fiber spinning systems and texturing machines from Remscheid promotes technological advances in this area. There will be more innovation focused on sustainability and digitalization in the future.
Barmer Maschinenfabrik Aktiengesellschaft (Barmag) was founded on March 27, 1922 in the town of Barmen in the Bergisch district. The German and Dutch founders entered uncharted technical territory with a groundbreaking invention: in 1884, the French chemist Count Hilaire Bernigot de Chardonnay made the first so-called artificial silk using nitrocellulose, which later came to be called rayon. The company said in a press release that the following decades saw a rapid development focused on the search for synthetic textile fibers and technologies for their production.
As one of the first engineering factories, Barmag survived the eventful years of the man-made fibers industry, the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, and the plant suffered significant damage at the end of World War II. He successfully rebuilds. With an unstoppable success story of pure synthetic plastic fibers such as polyamide, the company prospered from the 1950s to the 1970s, establishing factories in the then important textile industries, industrial areas and around the world, and gaining a worldwide reputation. process. Amid the ups and downs of expansion, global competition and crises, Barmag has risen to the top of the market, becoming the preferred technology development partner for the man-made fiber industry in China, India and Turkey. The release added that the company has been a high performance brand of the Oerlikon Group since 2007.
Today, Oerlikon Barmag is a leading supplier of synthetic fiber spinning systems and is part of the Artificial Fiber Solutions business unit of Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions. Georg Stausberg, CEO of Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions, emphasizes: “The desire for innovation and technological leadership has been, is and will always be part of our DNA.”
This has been seen in the past in pioneering innovations such as the revolutionary WINGS winder for POY in 2007 and the WINGS winder for FDY in 2012. Currently, the focus of new and future developments is on digitalization and sustainability. Since the end of the last decade, Oerlikon Barmag, one of the first system manufacturers in the world, has been implementing a fully connected smart factory for the world’s leading polyester producers. In this context, digital solutions and automation also help ensure better climate and environmental compatibility.
This commitment to sustainability is not only reflected in the e-save label introduced for all products in 2004: Oerlikon is also committed to making all of its factories carbon-neutral and 100% renewable energy by 2030. According to Georg Stausberg, the anniversary of Oerlikon Barmag can help achieve an ambitious goal: “Innovation starts with creativity. The memory of the past provides sufficient motivation and inspiration for the future.”